Erin Smith
Astoria, NY, United States
Erin Smith was diagnosed with celiac disease in the early 1980s, so she’s been eating gluten-free almost her entire life. Erin has a unique perspective of growing up in the gluten-free community and blogs about living — and enjoying — a gluten-free lifestyle.
Erin Smith has been writing her gluten-free lifestyle blog Gluten-Free Fun since 2007. In 2011, she launched Gluten-Free Globetrotter, a website that encourages those with celiac disease to travel the world and not be scared about eating gluten-free domestically and abroad. Erin is also the lead organizer of the NYC Celiac Disease Meetup group, a social community that has grown to over 1850 members in the 8 years she has been organizing the group.
http://glutenfreefun.blogspot.com
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Last week I missed my recipe of the week since I was busily planning my trip to Prague. I believe I more than made up for missing the posting by making two amazing dishes on Saturday night. Seriously, this could easily have been the best meal I have ever created. One of the reasons I think this dish turned out so deliciously was because of the fresh ingredients. Although I use fresh produce almost daily, most of my other ingredients tend to come pre-packaged. This includes meats, cheeses, and spices. Although I like to cook, I also like convenience and quick meal preparation; hence the pre-packaged groceries in my cabinets.

I figured that since I was trying out "fancy" recipes for a special dinner, I wanted to buy the best of the best. I had remembered reading about Sorriso Italian Salumeria years ago on a food blog about Astoria, NY... then I forgot about it. All I have to say is that I will never EVER forget this place again. This little slice of heaven is less than five blocks from my apartment and in the six years I have been living there, I have never been! What was I thinking?! From the hottt!! and helpful counter guy, to the amusing banter in both Italian and English, to the freshest mozzarella I have had since my trip to Italy I have seriously been missing out big time by not shopping here! The Sorriso cases were filled with amazing looking sausages, cheeses, prepared salads, and more. Although probably 50% of the case was gluten-filled foods (chicken parm, rice balls, etc.), the rest of the fresh meats and cheeses were all calling my name. I purchased mozzarella cheese and melt-in-your-mouth prosciutto for my recipes. I also picked up my first ever package of Aborio rice for risotto and I was ready to go.

I never made risotto so I was a bit intimidated by the recipe I chose. I actually got my recipe off the back of the Geisha brand gluten-free vegetable broth I picked up for a dollar a few weeks ago. I remember reading that you want to take your time with a risotto dish... this was not the 5-minute brown rice that I am used to. Patience isn't always my strong suit, but I wanted to prepare the dish correctly so I took my time. First, I roasted the veggies and then started the risotto about twenty minutes into the roasting. Timing is another thing I am not that great with when making big meals, but some how I managed to pull this off. I did have some liquid courage in the kitchen (ahem... wine) and a friend that was able to pull things off the burner when it was getting close to done and I wasn't paying attention.

Like I said, this dinner turned out wonderfully. Delicious flavors, perfect risotto, good wine, great company, and brownies with Nutella for dessert make for a vary successful Gluten-Free Fun recipe of the week.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Spread the flour on a plate and dredge each breast, coating evenly and shaking off the excess. Set aside.

In a large fry pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 Tbs. of the butter with the olive oil until very hot. Add the chicken breasts and cook until the undersides are golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken breasts over and continue to cook until they feel firm when pressed in the centers, 4 to 6 minutes more.

Reduce the heat to very low. Sprinkle the breasts evenly with the chopped or dried sage. Top each breast with a piece of prosciutto, then divide the cheese slices evenly among the breasts. Cover the pan tightly and cook until the cheese is melted, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and tent with aluminum foil, being careful not to allow the foil to touch the cheese.

Increase the heat to high. When the pan is sizzling, add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits stuck on the pan bottom. Boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 Tbs. butter.

Spoon an equal amount of the sauce over each breast, then garnish with a sage leaf. Serve immediately.